Successive Deprotonation Steering the Structural Evolution of Supramolecular Assemblies on Ag(111)

In this study, we demonstrate the structural evolution of a two-dimensional (2D) supramolecular assembly system, which is steered by the thermally activated deprotonation of the primary organic building blocks on a Ag(111) surface. Scanning tunneling microscopy revealed that a variety of structures, featuring distinct structural, chiral, and intermolecular bonding characters, emerged with the gradual thermal treatments. According to our structural analysis, in combination with density function theory calculations, the structural evolution can be attributed to the successive deprotonation of the organic building blocks due to the inductive effect. Our finding offers a facile strategy towards controlling the supramolecular assembly pathways and provides a comprehensive understanding of the 2D crystal engineering on surfaces.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates the structural evolution of a two-dimensional supramolecular assembly system on a silver surface. The evolution is driven by the thermally activated deprotonation of the organic building blocks. Scanning tunneling microscopy reveals the emergence of structures with distinct structural, chiral, and intermolecular bonding characters. The successivue deprotonation of the organic building blocks is attributed to the inductive effect. The findings offer a facile strategy to control supramolecular assembly pathways and provide a comprehensive understanding of 2D crystal engineering on surfaces.